Jim McIsaac/Getty ImagesJorge Cantu and Hanley Ramirez celebrate a Marlins run in the first inning against the Mets.

NEW YORK -- With a straight face, Hanley Ramirez tried to say the Florida Marlins get no extra-special joy out of possibly killing the Mets' playoff hopes.

"I mean, we don't try to do that," the Marlins shortstop said after Florida dumped the Mets, 6-1, Friday night at Shea Stadium, knocking the Mets one game behind the Brewers in the wild-card race with two games left in the season.

"We just try to keep playing the game and finish strong and win, man."

It was a nice try by Ramirez. His teammates weren't nearly so interested in being diplomatic.

"Absolutely. It's huge," first baseman Mike Jacobs said when asked if the Marlins were highly motivated to knock the Mets out of the playoff race on the final weekend -- as they did last year.

"We've definitely got a good little rivalry going over the last couple years with them," Jacobs, an ex-Met, said. "Obviously, we definitely want to send them home."

Jacobs certainly would have personal motivation to crush the Mets' playoff dreams, as he was traded by the Mets to Florida as part of the package for Carlos Delgado prior to the 2006 season. But even the Marlins who have no such motivation are fired up to end the Mets' season this weekend.

"When that game got canceled in Washington (Thursday night), guys started talking about how exciting it was last year to come in and knock (the Mets) out of the playoff race," Marlins catcher John Baker said. "And for us, this is our playoff. And we're going to play it like the playoffs. Because we've got two games left and then we go home. And we're trying to take as many people home with us."

Baker, a midseason call-up from Triple-A Albuquerque, wasn't even on the Marlins last year, but he got the message loud and clear from the guys that beating the Mets was a big deal. Also getting that message was starting pitcher Chris Volstad, another rookie midseason call-up who danced his way out of trouble in each of the first three innings before slamming the door on the Mets' offense over the six innings he pitched.

Volstad worked his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning and two-men-on jams in the second and third before cruising the rest of the way to improve his record to 6-4.

"I put myself in a hole a lot those first three innings," Volstad said. "I was able to make the pitches when I needed to, and I guess that counts for something. I was able to find it after that and I started throwing all my pitches for strikes. The last few innings felt really good."

Volstad said he enjoyed the playoff-like atmosphere at Shea Stadium and smirked when asked if the Marlins understood they had the chance to ruin the Mets' big plans for the final regular-season weekend at the stadium, which will be demolished after the season.

"Yeah, we knew all that coming in," he said. "We talked about that. We're shooting for something like that."

Asked how much it would mean for the Marlins to end the Mets' season, Volstad said, "I guess a lot."

"The Marlins did it last year," he said. "I wasn't up for that but they say it's pretty good doing that, so if we do it again, I'll get to experience it."